Here Are the Must-Stream Movies of December 2017

The holidays always make December an incredibly busy month— as do the numerous high-profile movies debuting in theaters. If that weren’t enough to keep one’s plate full until 2018, the leading streaming services are also gearing up to keep moviegoers overwhelmed with top-notch titles of every sort, from comedies and dramas to superhero extravaganzas and daring documentaries. The question isn’t whether you’ll be able to find something great amidst these bountiful line-ups; it’s whether you’ll have the time to watch everything you want.

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Streaming on Netflix

8 Mile (Dec. 1)

Eminem basically stars as himself in this 2002 drama about his path to hip-hop stardom from director Curtis Hanson.

Jim Carrey’s breakout big-screen role came as the weirdo pet detective in 1994’s original; he then broke out of a rhino’s private parts in the less-successful 1995 sequel.

Full Metal Jacket (Dec. 1)

The horrors of the Vietnam War are the setting for another Stanley Kubrick portrait of man’s animalism in this sterling 1987 drama.

Hitch (Dec. 1, also on Amazon Video)

Will Smith is a smooth-operator matchmaker who, after teaching men to impress women, falls for one himself (in the form of Eva Mendes) in this 2005 rom-com.

Nacho Libre (Dec. 1)

For his follow-up to Napoleon Dynamite, director Jared Hess crafts a wacko comedy about a Mexican priest (Jack Black) who moonlights as a professional wrestler.

The Farthest – Voyager in Space (Dec. 1)

The story of NASA’s Voyager mission—which sent a spacecraft into the farthest reaches of space—is recounted by this absorbing documentary.

The Wackness (Dec. 1)

Josh Peck stars as a weed-dealing teenager trying to figure out what to do after high school graduation—with the aid of his therapist (Ben Kingsley)—in this amusing 1994-set coming-of-age drama.

Voyeur (Dec. 1 – Netflix Original)

Legendary journalist Gay Talese’s efforts to report on a Colorado motel owner who spied on his guests for decades—in ways as elaborate as they were creepy—are detailed by this Netflix-exclusive documentary.

While You Were Sleeping (Dec. 1)

Sandra Bullock saves a man from death, and then falls in love with that now-comatose individual’s brother (Bill Pullman), in this 1995 romantic comedy, which catapulted the actress to the A-list.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Dec. 5)

There’s more music, more wisecracking, and more action in this sequel to 2015’s Marvel hit—as well as more daddy issues, courtesy of Star Lord’s (Chris Pratt) reunion with his dad (Kurt Russell).

Pottersville (Dec. 15)

Michael Shannon is mistakenly taken for Bigfoot—yes, seriously—and then winds up saving his small town in this has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed holiday film.

Wormwood (Dec. 15, also in theaters)

A man goes in search of answers about his father’s death, only to uncover deeper secrets about the American government, in this wholly unique blend of fiction and non-fiction from celebrated documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, which is being presented in six parts on Netflix, but will also receive a limited theatrical release.

Bright (Dec. 22 – Netflix Original)

On an Earth where humans live side-by-side with fantasy creatures, an LAPD officer (Will Smith) is partnered with an orc (Joel Edgerton) on a mission to save the world in this big-budget Netflix original film from Suicide Squad director David Ayer.

Creep 2 (Dec. 23)

Mark Duplass returns as an off-kilter serial killer with a fondness for found-footage schemes in this sequel to the 2014 indie hit.

Premiering on Amazon Video

Apocalypse Now (Dec. 1)

Francis Ford Coppola’s hallucinatory epic reimagines Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness as a Vietnam-set story of an army captain (Martin Sheen) assigned to locate and assassinate a rogue colonel (Marlon Brando) who’s revered as a god deep in the Cambodian jungle.

At Close Range (Dec. 1)

A gangster (Christopher Walken) is increasingly at odds with his criminal son (Sean Penn) in this critically heralded film from director James Foley, which also stars Mary Stuart Masterson, Crispin Glover, Kiefer Sutherland, and Christopher Penn.

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Bloodsport (Dec. 1)

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a former U.S. soldier who uses his martial-arts skills to triumph in a brutal Hong Kong fighting tournament in this 1988 film, which helped launch its headliner’s career.

The Brothers Grimm (Dec. 1)

Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are the famous fairy tale authors, who become involved in an actual supernatural predicament, in this visually inventive adventure from director Terry Gilliam.

Buffalo 66 (Dec. 1)

Vincent Gallo is an ex-con who forces Christina Ricci’s young woman to pretend to be his wife—all while dealing with family issues and a quest for revenge—in this highly distinctive 1998 drama from the star/writer/director.

Child’s Play (Dec. 1)

A criminal uses magic to transport his soul into a children’s doll—and then continues to go on a killing spree—in this first installment of the (increasingly comedic) horror franchise.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Dec. 1)

Joe Dante improves on his 1984 original with this crazy 1990 sequel, in which the mischievous gremlins take over a NYC skyscraper—a scenario the filmmaker uses for a cartoony satire about movies, TV, and American media culture.

In & Out (Dec. 1)

Kevin Kline is an English teacher who’s outed as a gay man by a former student (Matt Damon) during the latter’s Oscar acceptance speech in Frank Oz’s socially conscious 1997 rom-com.

Moonstruck (Dec. 1)

Cher won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in this 1987 romantic drama, about a woman who falls in love with the brother (Nicolas Cage) of her fiancé (Danny Aiello).

Point Break (Dec. 1)

Keanu Reeves is a quarterback-turned-FBI agent who goes undercover to nab Patrick Swayze and his band of surfer bank robbers in this, the best action film of the 1990s.

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Rocky 1-5 (Dec. 1)

Relive Rocky Balboa’s many inspiring victories via the first five films in the still-ongoing sports-movie series.

Searching for Bobby Fischer (Dec. 1)

A young boy (Max Pomeranc) with a gift for chess must deal with an overbearing father (Joe Mantegna) and an even more demanding coach (Ben Kingsley) in this underrated drama from blockbuster screenwriter Steven Zaillian.

The Silence of the Lambs (Dec. 1)

Only the third film to ever win Oscars in the top five categories (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress), Jonathan Demme’s 1991 thriller follows a young FBI agent (Jodie Foster) as she tries to track down a fiend (Ted Levine) with the aid of an imprisoned serial killer (Anthony Hopkins).

Titanic (Dec. 1)

James Cameron found box-office and Oscar glory with this 1997 historical epic about an upstairs-downstairs romance between Leonardo DiCaprio’s working-class artist and Kate Winslet’s society lady aboard the doomed Titanic.

Crank 2: High Voltage (Dec. 8)

Jason Statham goes in search of the men who stuck him with an artificial heart—which requires frequent jolts of electricity to keep working—in this insanely over-the-top sequel directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.

It Comes at Night (Dec. 9)

Joel Edgerton strives to keep his family safe from some unknown external threat by holing up in a cabin—a situation complicated by the unexpected arrival of strangers—in this thriller from director Trey Edward Shults.

Nightcrawler (Dec. 10)

Jake Gyllenhaal is a creep who finds fortune—and power—after beginning a career as a scuzzy crime-scene videographer in this neo-noir thriller from writer/director Dan Gilroy.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (Dec. 31)

Vince Vaughn is sent to prison, where he’s forced to do horrifically awful things to others in order to appease a crime boss and save his wife from being murdered, in this grim, bracing exploitation film from Bone Tomahawk writer/director S. Craig Zahler.

Debuting on iTunes

Stronger (Dec. 5)

Jake Gyllenhaal delivers an Oscar-caliber performance as a man forced to overcome the loss of his legs in the Boston Marathon Bombing in this stirring true-life drama.

mother! (Dec. 5)

As the wife of a poet (Javier Bardem), Jennifer Lawrence finds herself in biblical trouble while trying to renovate her home and deal with unwanted houseguests (including Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) in Darren Aronofsky’s polarizing drama.

Trophy (Dec. 5)

Presenting a multifaceted view of the gaming industry—and conservation efforts regarding some of the planet’s most endangered species—this documentary is one of the year’s best.

Dunkirk (Dec. 12)

The LEGO Ninjago Movie (Dec. 12)

The third installment in the LEGO movie franchise, this animated adventure involves a teenage ninja (Dave Franco) battling an evil villain (Justin Theroux) who, it turns out, is his dad.

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The Ballad of Lefty Brown (Dec. 15, also in theaters)

Bill Pullman is a gunman on a quest to avenge his longtime friend’s murder in this melancholy Western, premiering on VOD and in theaters on the same day.

The Battle of the Sexes (Dec. 19)

Billie Jean King and Bobbie Riggs’ famous tennis showdown—designed to prove which gender was superior—gets the Hollywood treatment courtesy of this sports drama starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell.

American Made (Dec. 19)

Tom Cruise gets back to delivering Tom Cruise-ian performances with this rollicking true-life action-drama about a pilot who transported drugs for the Colombian drug cartels in the 1980s while also working for the CIA.

It (Dec. 19)

One of horror’s all-time biggest hits, this adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel follows a group of kids as they face off against their hometown’s malevolent evil, which takes the form of a clown named Pennywise.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Dec. 19)

A surgeon (Colin Farrell), his wife (Nicole Kidman) and their two kids have their lives upended by the actions of a mysterious teenager (Barry Keoghan) in this bizarre, unsettling drama from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster).

Blade Runner 2049 (Dec. 26)

Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi film didn’t thrive at the box-office, but its gorgeously shot saga—about a detective (Ryan Gosling) investigating a mystery that involves an old agent (Harrison Ford)—should find fans on home video.

Marshall (Dec. 26)

Before he became the country’s first African-American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer—and one of his most explosive cases is recounted by this drama, starring Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, and Sterling K. Brown.

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